Can You Still See the Heart in Me
by EldestSalvatore
Summary: Darkness has taken over and corrupted Damon Salvatore from the inside and out but perhaps a Sleeping Beauty who has woke up earlier than expected can shed light to scare the darkness away. Damon and Elena have always survived every bump in the road but will they survive this?
1. Dear Elena

**Summary:** Hope took over sanity as Damon Salvatore found himself venturing into darkness believing that at the end he'd find light but instead he was met with only more darkness. For ten years darkness has corrupted him causing him to lose the man he was once and become the monster people fear him to be. This Malach has possessed him from the inside out but every year on the anniversary of when Damon had it all and lost it all he returns back to that barn. Everyone has deemed Damon to be a lost cause except for the Sleeping Beauty who has awoken and rather than give up on him she'll fight for him because she believes they'll survive this.

 **Authors Note:** Fret not readers this is simply an intro that will be leading you into the story not to mention it'll prepare you for the pain you are about to endure. Happy reading ;)

* * *

 **Ten Years Ago Before Darkness:**

 _My Dearest Elena,_

 _By the time you read this I'll have lost not only the battle but myself. My reasoning for taking this darkness is because I had the foolish belief that I could fight it, control it but even I'm not strong enough. I can feel myself slipping away and wanting to embrace the darkness and I know once I do I'll be the monster I once hated. Emotions that I carry will be gone and merely nothing and along with those emotions lost love will be one of them. I need you to know how much I love you. I need you to know how grateful I am to you because you gave me the chance to experience true love and that's something rare. When I first met you I wore a mask but bit by bit it peeled away until I revealed the real me to you and that I was worthy of not just loving you but being loved by you. You've given me so much Elena you revived me. You not only made me feel human but you made me want to be human again and that's everything because I never believed it would be in my reach again and I wanted that with you more than anything. As a human, all I had wanted in life was to be loved and build from that love and we would have had that. I would have had the honor of calling myself your husband and over time, I would have watched with pride as you held our baby. I wanted to grow old with you Elena but now as the goodness in me slips away I know that it's nothing but a pipe dream because when you come back I won't be here. You won't recognize me. The monster will have taken over and I want you to stand clear, stay away because with you now human I don't want your life at risk. Will you do something for me? Allow yourself to love again. You're coming back; think of it as getting a second chance at life away from the supernatural doom and gloom. You can still have that life. You can still go to medical school, marry, have kids and grow old it just won't be with me and it kills me but all I want is for you to be happy and if there's the smallest chance of you finding that happiness? Take it._

 _You're stubborn and you don't do as you're told because you've got that martyr complex. Stefan and everyone else will tell you to listen to me but in the end, you won't because you'll follow that annoying Gilbert Optimism of yours and if that's the case? Then maybe just maybe you can save me. Darkness has surrounded me but maybe a little bit of light will scare it away. You're my light Elena and if anyone can bring me back home it's you._

 _Until then my heart still lies with you_

 _Forever,_

 _Your Damon_


	2. Hello Darkness

**Summary:** Hope took over sanity as Damon Salvatore found himself venturing into darkness believing that at the end he'd find light but instead he was met with only more darkness. For ten years darkness has corrupted him causing him to lose the man he was once and become the monster people fear him to be. This Malach has possessed him from the inside out but every year on the anniversary of when Damon had it all and lost it all he returns back to that barn. Everyone has deemed Damon to be a lost cause except for the Sleeping Beauty who has awoken and rather than give up on him she'll fight for him because she believes they'll survive this.

 **Authors Note:** We, unfortunately, do not own Vampire Diaries because if we did this season would have worked out a hell of a lot differently. Everything that has happened and led up to season seven has occurred up until now. Damon's 'mate' Enzo didn't go along for the ride. The only one who has been consumed by darkness is Damon and oh the darkness that you shall find while reading this is going to make you lose your mind. If you're someone who has enjoyed the angst, passion, fight and love between Damon and Elena then settle down because you're going on a bumpy ride. We hope that you enjoy and reviews are always something we welcome also if you want to reach out to us on twitter be our guest. Thanks for taking the time to read now on with the show.

Sincerely waiting for your tears Luke ( EldestDamon) & Mel ( ElenaMarieGilbert)

* * *

 **Elena's POV:**

"Oh my god."

"She's waking up."

"Elena…? Elena, can you hear me?"

 **V** oices faint at first slowly grew louder. Time kept on and with each passing second, the youngest doppelganger was slowly pulled from her possible eternal slumber. The sleeping curse had finally been broken. No true loves kiss, nothing like that, it took a life. Her best friend's life (that's a completely different story). There a small stir, brows furrowed and then the moment everyone in the room had been waiting for. Her eyes fluttered open. "what-" Feeling groggy, was it just her or was the room actually spinning? Ten years sleeping would have that effect on a girl (another detail that she's not aware of). Her gaze was drawn downwards, a hand holding here. Heart skipping a beat but sitting on the edge of the bed, the person holding her hand. It wasn't him.

"Thank god." Caroline was even closer then, letting her hand go only to wrap her arms around her. The embrace returned, it was hard to be disappointed at least for the time being. She was awake.

"Bonnie" letting it sink in practically in hysterics "is she" trailing off before she pulled back, sitting up. Brown eyes widening ever so slightly, in the pit of her stomach was dread. Trying to brace herself for what she was sure she'd hear in those next moments.

"She's in transition." Stefan's voice broke the silence, and through all the horrible thoughts swirling around in her mind.

In Transition?

"We'll tell you all about it later. What matters is that she's going to be okay. You both are." Caroline was on the verge of tears by that point and Elena swore she had never seen her smiling so brightly. Bonnie was going to be okay and that was like a huge weight off her chest. She was going to see her best friend again.

A room full of those she loves, almost everyone that matters to her here. Two notable absences. One had been explained while the other "where's Damon?" Looking around the room, half expecting him to walk in at that moment. Or for him to have been there the entire time and she had somehow missed him. The look that Caroline and Stefan exchanged didn't go unnoticed by her. "What's going on…where is he?"

"Elena…he wanted us to give you this." In Caroline's other hand was a folded letter that she hadn't noticed before and the smile she had been wearing now gone as if it had never been there to begin why.

She took the letter, torn between hastily reading it and pushing it away, simply demand again to know what had happened as she takes in a deep breath.

 _My dearest Elena_

Is how the letter began and it went downhill from there. "No" by the time she got to the end, she hadn't realized how tightly she was gripping the paper, how it was crumbled and on the verge of tearing. "No" She repeated a little louder this time. "This wasn't th-this wasn't supposed to happen he was" by now she was trembling, something she didn't realize until she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I told him not to wait for me, he was supposed to be happy, I didn't want this…" It was like a switch had been flipped in her, the pained expression she wore became normal. Or as normal as it could be. It hurt like someone had reached in and literally tore out her heart but she couldn't sit around feeling sorry for herself. "Where is he?" She looked around the room. At first, no one wanted to meet her gaze, the huge giveaway that at least one of them knew.

"Elena, I-" Stefan begins but is immediately cut off.

"Stefan" this time Elena's tone more demanding "where is he?"

"The barn."

"What?"

"The barn where the wedding Alaric's wedding took place. Today is the anniversary of that day. Damon always went back there on this day. Even when he started to not care about anything else, he never stopped going there and that's where he'll be today."

"Then that's where I'm going." She said, quickly getting to her feet. There were protests of course. That was to be expected, her friends out of concern tried to talk her out of it. Eventually, a compromise was made. Caroline drove her there, making her promise that she'd call if she needed anything. Basically in more words than necessary, to call if Damon tried to hurt her.

"Caroline I'll be fine this is Damon. No matter what you've seen or what this letter says he's still my Damon, and I'm going to get him back."

* * *

 **Damon's POV**

 _ **Does this darkness have a name?**_

 _ **This cruelty, this hatred?**_

In Damon Salvatore's case, its name was simply darkness and it had possessed him from the inside and out. Though he had tried to fight so hard against it eventually the battle had been lost and in the end, he had embraced it. Allowing this very darkness to consume him and rip him away from the man he once was.

 _ **How did it find us?**_

 _ **Did it steal into our lives or did we seek it out?**_

This darkness had been sought out when he had been tricked. He had known that whatever had been in that vault was something to not be unleashed. Every logical part of him knew not to venture down there even though his curious nature had wanted to in the end he resisted until he heard her.

 _Damon_

It had been faint, a mere whisper that only Vampire ears could hear but he had heard it and recognized it. All thoughts of sense and logic gone as he found himself venturing into the vault. More than willing to travel into the unknown darkness at the small hope he'd find the light at the end, Elena.

 _ **When did we lose our way?**_

Damon's way lost and in the end never finding light only more darkness. It was ironic because the better man in him was the reason for why he had become this way. The better man was why he was in this mess in the first place because rather than being selfish he had chosen to be selfless and make a sacrifice that would cost him everything including himself.

It was terrifying how quick the darkness had taken over the moment he had allowed it to take control of him and after that everything had become easy. Of course, the Justice League of Idiots refused to give up on him believing that they could lead him back towards the right path but each time Damon had proven them wrong by doing something more reckless than the last. Going to a bar outside of Mystic Falls causing a brawl and in the end killing every human in there, blood splattered everywhere so much so that the scene itself looked like something that had come out of a horror movie. Killing hadn't been his outlet to vent it had simply been because it was fun. Whatever had possessed Damon enjoyed blood on their hands and because of it Damon was the vessel that it used.

Death, death, and more death only adding more tacks to the list that it had eventually surpassed Stefan's list of kills, making it pale in comparison to his own.

 _This isn't you brother_

 _I'm not giving up on you_

 _Damon, you're better than this_

 _Fight this_

The same speech on repeat said by those who had once been his loved ones and he knew the only way he could be free of them was to make them fear him. Each new plan failed because they still remained by his side so his methods became more drastic and monstrous. If his loved ones weren't taking the bait he'd move to the next option and that had been Caroline and Alaric's kids. Oh yes, his dear brother and Caroline's romance had been blooming again and stronger than ever. Though Alaric and Caroline hadn't officially tied the knot she had carried his twins so it only made sense she had become attached causing them to take turns switching off. On one fateful night, Stefan and Caroline had walked into the house greeted to the girl's babysitter dead on the floor, blood pooled around her body but worst had been walking in and seeing Damon with blood drenched on his clothes and the twins seated beside him. Though he was a monster he wasn't the type to kill children but he had put the fear of god into them causing Caroline to have to compel them to forget about the nightmare that had happened. That had been the last straw as he watched his brother's heart drop at the sound of his girlfriend crying in the other room. Damon had known the specific moment when Stefan had finally given up on him and he had relished in it because he knew he was finally free.

 _You win Damon_

What had Damon won, though?

A life outside Mystic Falls? One spent isolated from those he once loved? Leaving what use to be his home had been easier than he had thought because nothing was keeping him here anymore and when he passed the sign saying 'now leaving Mystic Falls' he hadn't just left the town.

He had left himself.

* * *

Birthdays, holidays, or the countless voicemails he had gotten hadn't been enough to draw him home. Damon had spent his time traveling the world from Vegas to Italy and Paris to Spain and all the in between but he never stayed long not wanting to draw attention to himself including suspicion. Never once had he returned a phone call but he had listened to the messages, every last single one. Days, weeks, months and years would pass and he wouldn't spare a thought or set foot in Mystic Falls until it hit the anniversary of what was supposed to be Alaric and Jo's wedding and more importantly the day he had lost his life.

Call it the last remaining part of Damon or the masochist in him that relished in the pain. Whatever it was though always drew him back. Today was no different marking the ten year anniversary since he had lost Elena. Here he stood in the barn even now he could recall it perfectly. Thinking back to when he had returned from his trip with Stefan, walking in and finding his very breath stolen as his eyes fell onto the beautiful angel decked in a light violet dress. Stefan had put him through the test and Elena had made it her mission too but this time, he had spoken up convincing not just her but himself of how he wanted to take the cure.

* * *

 _I'm taking it, I've been a vampire for a long time Elena and it's been a blast but I would give it up in a second to be your husband, your partner and the father of your kids._

 _Because even if this all goes to hell and I'm miserable and alone the smallest chance of the perfect life with you in infinitely better than an immortal one without you_

Lifting his finger to his lips still feeling the lingering of her kiss before they had gotten swept up in their happiness and he had dragged her off to the hayloft so they could properly celebrate. Soulless blues trained on where the altar had been, flicking his attention towards the window that had completely shattered due to Kai's vengeance. Though he didn't want to focus he could still hear the sound of the glass shattering and her cries as she had gotten knocked down. Elena had been breathtaking that day and that night she had stolen his breath again only, this time, it had been because of the sight of her battered and bruised face. Gritting his teeth together and squeezing his eyes shut to remove the images that were presenting themselves to him. Why was it like this? The darkness inside him wouldn't allow him to feel anything because it fought those feelings but each time Damon returned to this barn it was a part of him had been stronger able to fight that darkness off for so long until it would finally overpower him again.

The sound of car meeting gravel catching his attention as he fights back a smirk knowing whoever had chosen to pay a visit would be meeting their end. Poor fool not knowing they were walking straight into a trap. This is exactly what he needed to let the predator possess him. Hearing a car door slam he flashes to the opposite side of the barn allowing himself to be hidden beneath the shadows cloaked in the darkness something he was more than familiar with.

Feeling the vibration of his phone in his pants rolling his eyes knowing it was probably Stefan wanting to check on him because he knew what day it was _sorry brother not in the mood for a Hallmark movie moment._ Creeeeak the barn door opening as he catches sight of a figure walking in, finding it hard to see considering the only light in here had been the moonlight streaming in. From where he is though he can make out that it's a woman and just as he's about to take a step closer to inspect he freezes as his own name slips past her lips and just like that the very wind being knocked from him because that voice, that voice that has haunted his every dream.

 **Present Day:**

Nothing was going to keep them apart. Not death, not destiny, and certainly not Damon himself but that didn't make Elena any less anxious as she stood alone outside the barn. Deep breath, she could do this. If Damon had managed to get her back when she forgot her feelings for him. Then she could win him back when his feelings were gone. A loud creak, she nearly cringed, the sound of the barn door opening alerting him to the fact that he wasn't alone.

If he hadn't noticed already he may very well have. Her rapid beating heart was probably another dead giveaway "Damon" she called out softly. Stepping inside the barn and trying not to think of the moments spent here. The last moments they spent together. Their last happy moments together. Memories she'd rather remember fondly many years down the road with him, not like this. Waiting for him to step into view, waiting anxiously while deep down afraid of what she might see.

"I got your letter."

 _No, no it can't be its impossible_

Damon now casting his gaze towards the phone that had just been ringing as his brows draw together before lifting his dark eyes up and being greeted by a face he never thought he'd see again. Even if he wants to withhold it her name slips past his lips "Elena" and for a moment the Damon she once knew showcases himself as a mixture of disbelief and relief flood his blues that had become just a touch light. Unfortunately, for him it doesn't last long as that familiar tug to the dark side takes him. "Did you now" his voice detached as a rich chuckle escapes him. The next time he says her name it won't come out like a prayer being answered but a warning being told.

"Then you should know it was along the lines of a Dear John letter meaning you shouldn't have come here, Elena."

 **End Chapter One**


	3. Malach, Meet Elena

**Summary:** Hope took over sanity as Damon Salvatore found himself venturing into darkness believing that at the end he'd find light but instead he was met with only more darkness. For ten years darkness has corrupted him causing him to lose the man he was once and become the monster people fear him to be. This Malach has possessed him from the inside out but every year on the anniversary of when Damon had it all and lost it all he returns back to that barn. Everyone has deemed Damon to be a lost cause except for the Sleeping Beauty who has awoken and rather than give up on him she'll fight for him because she believes they'll survive this.

 **Authors Note:** Thank you for the reviews I know people are wondering how it's possible for Damon to be so cruel towards Elena this chapter might help you because you're going to see the struggle that Damon is dealing with and the battle he is trying to fight. You're about to meet the Malach and you're not going to be pleased with what you see, godspeed friends.

Sincerely waiting for your tears Luke ( EldestDamon) & Mel ( ElenaMarieGilbert)

* * *

"Elena"

She spun around the sound of her name. Just one word falling from his lips was enough to get her heart racing. Really he could have said anything; it was his voice, hearing him truly for the first time in what felt like forever. He was really here; she was really with him again. Ten years, to a vampire it's nothing. But ten years without your heart, your home, your life. Every moment without that is an eternity of misery. Pain that she wished he had been able to endure but he hadn't. Elena didn't blame him. She didn't have a right to after all she had fallen apart long before he did.

Hearing his voice again was everything that she had been expecting and yet so much more. It was the way that he had called out to her, how his voice had sounded. Coming here, bracing for the worst. Expecting to come across someone who would say she doesn't matter. That she'd nothing to him. But for someone who apparently didn't care. It didn't sound that way from the way he said her name. If she didn't know better, she'd swear everyone else was wrong. That he wasn't really gone, and so for a moment, she did the worst thing imaginable.

She let herself have **hope**

There she was the woman he loves more than life itself standing just a few feet before him. Only illuminated by the pale moonlight making Damon think back to her naked body tangled with his as they made love in the barn. She had looked like an angel then and she looked like one now. Standing here he felt inferior to be in the presence of an angel when he was pretty much the devil. Something as pure and good as Elena didn't deserve to be near something as callous and evil as Damon Salvatore. Was that even his name? He barely recognizes himself anymore because in his eyes he was no longer a person but a killing machine. Ten years he had gone without her and this time, she was real, this wasn't a trick because evil would not conjure something good up and Elena was the truest form of good. This wasn't his loved ones trying to use this against him. No, no this was Elena in the flesh because only she had the ability to want his dead heart to start up again.

"Damon…?" She called out softly, and he'd hear the hesitation in her voice. Gaze turning in the direction that his voice had come from. In the shadows, concealed from view unless of course you knew what to look for. It's just too bad, he had more to say. In a matter of seconds, it's almost amazing how much something can change. His voice, from moments ago till now, it couldn't have possibly been more different. He sounded almost amused like he found her so pathetic it was fun. Bringing up the letter that had been left for her. His goodbye because he had run out of time. Damon was alive but if that letter was true, then the man she loves is gone. For now. Goodness knows Elena Gilbert never gives up. Especially not on Damon.

Deep breath all her doubt and fears, she needed to leave them all behind. Damon needs her, now more than ever. Giving herself one last moment of hesitation, she slowly stepped forward. "That's not the way I saw it" she began, referring to his letter and wasting no time in mocking what he had written for her. Elena had to wonder, though, how old was it. Weeks? Moths? Years old? A question she hadn't stopped to ask because that detail wasn't all that important.

Damon had put the fear of God into people over the years. He had been the definition of fear and nothing had ever scared him, until now. Until he saw Elena step forward drawing him to take a step back.

"I saw it as an apology. You couldn't hold on and I understand why you couldn't I'm just sorry I couldn't come back to you sooner." Moving in closer still, releasing a shaky breath as she walked and already she could feel the tears starting to sting her eyes.

What the hell was she doing? Fuck, there she went apologizing for his mistakes stop defending me he wants to scream out to her but he remains silent. Another step causing Damon to grit his teeth together because as much as he wanted her near him he was afraid of what he would do.

"It was also you trying to be wrong for me, telling me to move on because you didn't know what you'd do when you lost yourself. You never ask me to put myself in danger but you also know me better than that. I'm back now and I'm going to bring you home too." Damon would see the trace of a smile on her lips, finally, she was face to face with him and it killed her, having any distance between them.

 **Home**

 _If anyone can bring me back home it's you_

Recalling his last journal entry to Elena before the darkness had swallowed him from the inside out. All Damon had wanted was to go home again but there was no way he could go back now even if he wanted to he wasn't allowed because home wasn't a place for Damon, it was a person, and it was Elena. Whatever darkness had latched onto him had stripped him away from love. The tears that he caught welling in her eyes enough for him to want to reach out and wipe them away.

 _ **Do that and I'll rip her throat out right in front of you**_

Wrenching his hand back as if he had suddenly been burned _no, no don't please don't hurt her_ he's begging to the darkness _**then make it easy on yourself and stop fighting me let me in Damon**_. The menacing smirk curling at his lips "who says I want to go home, let alone with you" he questions as he tilts his head to the side.

"We've been through so much Damon. We'll get through this too we can survive anything, as long as we're together" her voice hopeful believing that her love might be able to break through the barriers if she's able to get him to listen.

"We'll get through this, we can survive anything" he taunts with a dark chuckle. "You keep apologizing for not being here as you should be because had you been here E-l-e-n-a" drawling her name out as it rolls off his tongue "we wouldn't be in this ugly predicament." Damon hadn't moved before but now he was approaching her "isn't it ironic how you wanted me to be the better man by not choosing you and letting the witch live and then you expecting me to live my life as if nothing happened? Oh but so many things happened yet still I tried to find a reason to push on" his tone anything but hopeful if mocking. "I saved the day Bonnie got to live, my brother got the girl and I ventured into darkness believing I'd find the light" circling around Elena as if she's his prey. "You know what I found though" stopping behind her as he leans his head down "darkness" he huskily breathes into her ear before drawing back, walking around her so he can face her again.

All but holding her breath as Damon took his turn and he was the one to step in closer to her. Circling her like she was his prey and she had to force herself to keep looking straight ahead. He, this person that Damon had become, he was only trying to get a rise out of her. This isn't him, she had to tell herself. He'd never look at her like that. He'd never act this way after being apart for so long. Mocking her, the choices she had made, mocking Damon. It was all a rather painful pill to swallow, having to stand there and just listen to all that he had to say. He wasn't her Damon, but there's no way in hell she'd give up. He was in there somewhere. One way or another, she was going to save him from himself. They'd always survived. They'd been through worse and they were going to get through this too. Whether he liked it or not.

Letting her see the darkness in his eyes "you made me the better man yet in the end he got screwed over. I did fight it but you know what it turns out I like it. I like having this power, I like being in a sense the Grim Reaper or perhaps a God if you will by deciding who lives and who dies." Pausing for a moment as he chuckles "newsflash everyone tends to die" flashing her a smile "and considering you did make the effort to come here it would be wrong of me to suddenly change my ways."

What he was implying. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Ever since he had lost himself, he had been leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. He wasn't himself anymore, that's one thing that her friends had told her over and over again before she left. Making it very clear that her coming to find him was something that they didn't agree with. Though even as she stood here with Damon, with him being something she barely recognizes. She doesn't regret that choice she had made. Not hell or high water could have stopped her from coming to him. She'd never give up on him, regardless of what the cost might be for herself or her own well-being. "You know what I think? That you won't hurt me." Some might think that was foolish of her to think so but that's one thing that always remained true. Even at his darkest, Damon had never hurt her. She refused to believe any less of him now.

 _WHAT ARE YOU DOING ELENA_

The trapped part of Damon wanting to scream at her, take her in his arms and shake her until she was thinking sensibly because this? Telling the darkness inside of him that he wouldn't hurt her? In this things eyes, it wasn't brave but seen as a challenge. This monster inside of him, this leech was something that would happily take the challenge in the most menacing of ways and it terrified the hell out of Damon. God Elena's martyr complex was something he hated and loved but right now he hated it because he knew the worst was yet to come and the monster in him only became all the more eager because of it.

Of course, her unshaken faith in him didn't make all of this hurt any less. It absolutely killed her to see him like this. A fact that she couldn't let him see. Being strong, it's all she can do. Show that no matter what he does, giving up on him, letting him go it'll never be an option for her. The love of her life, she'd never be able to walk away from him, even if she wanted to. Standing face to face with him after his promises had been made. Anyone with half a brain would have been leaving and getting the hell out of there while they still could. Elena, maybe this was a mistake on her part, but she wasn't afraid of him.

"You're brave" he assesses "stupid, foolish, idiotic but brave" while Damon loved Elena this thing hated her for what she stood for, hope. In the ten years that he had spent with Damon never once had he fought him off unless it came to Elena. Each year he'd allow Damon to come to this barn because Damon's desire to be here was too strong to fight off and this darkness didn't mind because he had never viewed it as a threat, until now.

Elena stepped forward again, closing the distance between them more. Her arms around him, pulling him close to her. Holding on to him as if her very life depends on it. "Please come back to me." Halfway through her plea, her voice cracked. Getting him back, she had no idea how. Still unsure of what had even happened to him in the first place. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Their reunion, her waking up, that was supposed to be it. After that, they'd finally be together and yet here they were with another obstacle to overcome.

Why couldn't he scream? Why couldn't he tell her to run and not look back? Face to face with the woman he loves arms laced around his neck drawing him closer. Vampires didn't find it necessary to breathe but this closeness was enough for him to feel as if the air had been sucked out of him. The neutral expression he had been wearing vanishing showing panic on his features fearing what he's feeling. Elena was here, standing before him, the way she was holding him reminding of their goodbye when they had shared their final dance on the road that had started it all.

 _Please come back to me_

Elena's words stinging him, more than familiar to him considering every night Damon had uttered those words wishing on a star, saying a prayer and whatever else it would take to bring her back to him but unfortunately they had all gone unanswered.

If she didn't know better, she might have actually believed the universe was trying to keep them apart. Trying to keep herself from trembling, she drew back some. Enough so that she could look him in the eyes. "Damon, please come home." What could she say? What could she do? She knew that she'd do literally anything for him, to get her Damon back. She just wished that she knew what she could do that would actually help. Ten years apart, could anyone really blame her for being impatient? The idea of spending another second without him, it's something she didn't want to imagine.

As they say. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Before giving him a chance to say anything else, she leaned in again. This time capturing his lips with her own. Never had she believed in fairy tales but if there was ever a moment she wished things would work out like one, it was right now.

 _Please come home_

Home, the word leaving a sour taste in his mouth but that taste soon replaced as Elena's lips ever so softly pressing them against his own. All the thoughts running through Damon's mind, all the fear coursing through him disappearing the second that her lips touch his. Feeling as if he's been given the chance to come up for air as she breathes life back into him he takes it only for it to be ripped from him as he feels himself being dragged back down to the dark abyss. Even at his darkest Damon Salvatore would never cause harm to Elena Gilbert but this man, this thing standing in front of her was not that man.

The kiss, it was so simple and yet it was everything at the same time. Like this moment was all she'd get. Her lips against his, kissing Damon, she had imagined this moment over and over again. It just her fantasies was a little different. They'd kiss over and over and over. Eventually ending up on his bed or really the nearest large surface that would do. Ten years apart, she'd hardly be a patient person. Their first kiss was supposed to be the start of then becoming reacquainted with one another. Not her desperate attempt to try and get back the man that she loves. Her hands balled up into small fists, clutching at his shirt, trying to keep him there, drawing him in closer to her. For a moment, she thought that this night actually worse. She'd swear she felt a change in him. One that didn't last. A flicker of hope, it was ripped from her both figuratively and literally. Because what happened next. She would have never seen it coming.

With a displeased growl and wanting to get his point across he draws back his hand and in one fluid motion his palm is smacking so hard against her right cheek that it's enough to knock her straight down onto the ground. The creature smirking as he's immediately greeted to the harsh red imprint already displaying itself.

 _NO!_

It's like Damon has a front row seat to the show and he can't do anything about it except stand helpless and watch. Staggering backward as his attention remains on the mark on Elena. Glancing down as he looks at his trembling hands now letting it sink in that his hands had harmed her.

A crack. A gasp. A loud thud. Three sounds, in a matter of seconds, changed everything. One moment she was kissing him, she had felt his arm pull back, she hadn't thought anything of it. Never would she have imagined he was drawing it back to hit her! In fact, it took her mind a moment to even realize what had happened. Her gasp was just as much out of pain as it was out of surprise. On the ground now, her hands had shot out to catch herself, and they took the brunt of most of the fall. They stung almost as bad as her cheek. Scrapped up because of the floor, she shan't dare to look down. It hurt that much she knew. But it all honesty, the pain she felt physically couldn't compare to how much she hurt inside. He may as well have shoved his hand into her chest and ripped out her heart. That's what the feeling could be compared to. Damon would never lay a hand on her. That was the biggest indication of how far gone he truly was.

 _Please don't hurt her she's done nothing wrong_

 _ **Oh but she has she makes you feel and you know that isn't allowed. By feeling it draws you to fight and that is frowned upon. If you don't want a repeat of that I suggest you no longer hold on and let her go**_

Feeling whatever hold Damon had loosened the Malach's eyes turn to Elena relishing in her tears as she remains on the floor battered, bruised and broken. A malevolence laugh escaping him "this isn't a movie Elena this isn't some rom-com or in your case a fairy tale. A simple kiss won't make everything poof" mocking her as he pretends whatever badness is disappearing as he waves his hands in the air. "Love does not conquer all" he coolly delivers.

For a moment, she lowered her head, closing her eyes. How ironic was this? She swore nothing could be worse than being trapped in a coma-like spell for ten years. She'd rather be stuck like that for a thousand years than see what has happened to him because of her. "Damon…" Ignoring the fact that the man speaking to her wasn't him. For now, she had nothing to say to whoever or whatever had taken over the man than she loves. Instead sticking with speaking him. "You're stronger than this. You can fight it, I know you can." Opening her eyes again, swallowing hard and trying to blink away the tears that have formed since she had been here on the ground. "You have to fight it, Damon. Please. I need you. I've been alone for so long. Please come back to me." At a loss, unsure what to do. Only know that she couldn't give up. She had to fight for him, for them. Nothing was ever going to make her give up on Damon Salvatore.

"I will tell you this though for many centuries before I was captured and sealed in that god forsaken vault I possessed many individuals. Men, woman it didn't matter but no one has ever loved as powerfully as Damon. You see I have a gift Elena knowing individuals Achilles heel and for Damon that was you. I could feel his fear as he neared the vault but you see when it comes to matters of the heart, the heart wants what it wants so sanity lost and because of it Damon lost as well." Moving so that he can kneel beside her, his thumb tracing the red mark proudly displaying on her cheek before he fully sits down and crosses his legs "at first I was a stranger, he tried to fight me off but bit by bit I won him over. He use to be lost struggling with what was right and what was wrong but in time, he found himself if anything I saved him. He no longer fought me. He became a willing host becoming merely a vessel to me who would do my bidding. Never once did him and I have a difference of opinion until today and that's why sweet Elena you are a complication because with you here he's not the most gracious of hosts." Standing to his feet as he dusts off his jeans, curiously looking at her letting her stay where she is and not bothering to help her "so now you see my problem and I think it's only fitting we come up with a solution, don't you?"

Movement above her, she wanted to keep liking away from him. Unable to stomach looking at this. Not wanting to remember Damon like this. To feel disgusted as she looked up at the fact that meant the world and more to her. Fingers asunder her cheek, recoiling from his touch, roughly jerking her head back. "Don't touch me." She hissed between gritted teeth, trying to ignore how it hurt. His touch against the sensitive skin of her cheek.

As Elena recoiled back rather than feel disrespected he found himself amused. Here he was this monstrous beast who had just struck her and rather than turn away in fear she was looking directly at him. Rather than stuttering with words she found them easily.

 _This girl will be fun to break_

Block him out, ignore what he has to say. All he wants to do is get a rise of her. Show her how much of a lost cause this is. That she'll never be able to win. Damon, she's his biggest weakness and thus, this things biggest threat. "If you know him as well as you say, then you should also know I'm not one to give up easily." She finally replied, breaking the silence. Deep breath, fighting through the pain, she pushed herself up and onto her feet.

"You have a fire in you Elena Gilbert it's one of the reasons why Damon Salvatore fell in love with you." This Malach didn't just possess Damon's body. It possessed his soul, his mind and basically everything that made up Damon including Elena. "For over a century this man had welcomed the very darkness that I encourage people to take. Oh if only I had known him back then" mocking a pout before that nasty smirk curls at his lips "we would have had, even more, fun" pausing for a moment "now where was I?" Snapping his fingers together "ah right, this man had embraced being a vampire enjoying the hunt and feeling alive when he killed and it could have lasted forever until one night on a long and winding road he met you. Fooled into thinking you were his lost love and yet in less than five minutes he was able to distinguish between you and Katherine."

Is this what it felt like for Damon when he looked at Katherine? To see the face of the person he loves but it not really being them. This was Damon, his body, it was him, but it wasn't him. Looks aside, there was little to nothing recognizable about him. Even at his worse, she had never seen him like this. He had never treated her like this, She knew this wasn't him, that part was easy. It was dealing with the rest that really sucked. Feeling so utterly helpless while looking into the face of the creature that had taken over Damon. Erased everything that he was. Where was Damon? Was he aware of what was going on? Could he hear her now or was it like he just wasn't there anymore. Like when she had been fully possessed. Where it had been like she had fallen asleep, little to no recollection of what Katherine had done while parading around in her body. As much as she wished that simply calling out would be enough to reach Damon. God she hoped he wouldn't remember any of this. He had hit her. and it wasn't him. But just the fact alone that his hands did it, she knew he'd blame himself. For that and for everything else that might happen.

Turning on his heel as he walks over to lean against one of the barn walls, folding his arms over his chest "Damon didn't just compel your memories away because he didn't want his brother knowing he was in town no it was deeper than that he did it because you scared the hell out of him because you were able to draw out something he hadn't felt in years." Rolling his eyes as he makes a 'pfft' noise "disgusting really and what a shame because he could have amounted to so much more."

 **Damon** this was, so messed up. Listening to this thing talk about him. Like Damon was there but not in control. A feeling she could relate to, losing control of your body to another. Except, in this case, it was so much worse. Their problems wouldn't be solved just with a stab of a knife. "I couldn't agree more. How about this. You go to hell and give me my Damon back." The look of hatred in brown eyes, it's a way she never thought she'd look at Damon. But this wasn't him and he wouldn't be, not until she found a way to get him back. "If you want to get rid of me, you're gonna to have to try a lot harder than that. I'm not going anywhere. Not without him."

 _Go to hell_

Tipping his head back at what he assumes to be her trying to insult him causing him to roar in laughter "seriously" flashing in front of her so they are now chest to chest "I know hell well, in fact, I am the reason why so many people end up in hell because I corrupt them. I can make anyone sin and revel in the kill."

From several feet away, all it took was one blink of her eyes for him to sudden;y be standing in front of her. Shoulders giving a small jerk, the only indication that the sudden movement had startled her. Chest to chest, far too close for comfort, and yet she held her ground. Again throwing her own words back in her face, She practically bit her tongue, looking away from him this time. It hurt to be this close, listening to him be so sure of himself. Her promises and her attempts to get to Damon seemed to have little to no effect. He couldn't be gone. They had been through too damn much for it to end this way.

This Malach of the man she still loves towering over her wanting nothing more than to dispose of this girl, this human and this liability. All he wants to do is end her and leave this place so that Damon would be a good vessel again but he can't because this girl is already causing problems for him.

 _My Damon_

Biting back the annoyed growl at the burst of hope the courses through the pathetic vessel knowing that Elena was going to fight for him _**need I remind you Damon of the consequences that can happen here. I am in control. If I say jump you don't even ask how high you simply jump and if I tell you to cut that pretty little throat of hers you'll be the one to sharpen the knife. So tread carefully. We don't need her she will only ruin the plans I've made for us now send her away before I take matters into my own hands.**_

The puppet that he had been suddenly feeling the strings cut off, no longer Malach's marionette doll being given his own control for the time being. Not sure how long he's going to be allowed this moment he ceases the opportunity framing Elena's face in his hands "Elena" the blackness in his eyes fading and being replaced by that familiar ocean blue.

Hands on her face, she closed her eyes again. Bracing herself for, well just any sort of pain. Expecting to be struck again at any moment. His touch was gentle, but again, she was passing it off as him mocking her. But then, he spoke. And this thing, it cold face being kind…but it couldn't do that. She knew this wasn't a trick. "Damon?!" The familiar blue eyes that she loved so much were what she found looking back at her. "Oh my god…"

"All my life people have given up on me deemed me to be the lost cause and all I ever wanted was for someone to fight for me and here you are" swallowing the lump in his throat. "You're fighting for me and as much as I want you to" blinking back the tears welling in his eyes "you can't…I can't put you at risk so go, run, don't look back" the pads of his thumbs caressing her cheek "when we said goodbye you asked something of me and as hard as it was I listened so now you need to listen to me live your life Elena but keep me out of it."

It was him. _How_ no, stop right there. It doesn't matter. It's him, really him. To have so much running through her mind and still have no idea what to say. He, on the other hand, had plenty to say. Her joy and surprise were slowly turning into something else. Dread was in the pit of her stomach. "Damon. No." She tried to cut him off, he needed to stop. What he had to say, they both knew what was coming.

The cold stoned expression they had both been wearing now gone as their love for each other shows as they fall into each other's arms, the place where they are supposed to be all along. Why was the world so cruel to them? Hadn't they been through enough? Ten years apart and yet still he continued to carry her in his heart. Why did it always come down to choices when it came to them? Choose between Elena and Bonnie, choose between being the better man or selfish and now? Now it was choosing between holding on or letting go and god he wanted to hold on, he wanted to cling on for dear life but he couldn't because if he did that he'd lose his life.

"Elena"

"Don't you dare say goodbye to me." What was best for her, screw that. What was the point, there was nothing without him. "I can't, you know I can't. I won't. I can't live without you."

There was no amount of words that he could say that would come close to making this easier. Saying goodbye to the one you love is never easy he brokenly thinks to himself. "Elena" he tries again but she's talking over him and going on about how she can't live without him and fuck he wishes he could say that he could live without her to make it easier but they'd both know it's a damn lie.

 _We'll survive this_

What broke Damon's heart more seeing Elena sobbing or knowing, this time, would be different because this time they wouldn't survive when the battle had already been lost.

 _We always survive_

Could they? They had defeated a manipulative doppelganger, vampires, werewolves, the Big Bad Wolf, Silas, Travelers and so many other enemies. What if this was just another bump in the road?

 _ **Hate to burst your bubble but it won't be like that. Your love for each other won't be enough to save you this time.**_

 _You don't know Elena and I_ Damon argues back as he fights internally with the monster within. The pads of his thumbs loving caressing Elena's cheeks as he swipes the many tears away.

Elena was all but sobbing by the end; her body trembled as she tried holding back her tears. "Let me help you, we can figure this out. I-I won't lose you. Please don't ask me to let you go."

 _ **I know that you don't want to see her in pain and that's exactly what I will deliver. So many options to choose from**_

Fighting back his own sob he pulls Elena into him and claims her lips against his own, kissing her with everything that he has left in him. Any goodness, hope, and feelings of love being put into this kiss, putting his very soul into this kiss, kissing her as if it's his last and that's exactly what this is.

 _ **She loves you with all her heart how fitting would it be if you were to rip it right from her?**_

Finally drawing back now realizing that countless tears are trailing down his cheeks but this time, he doesn't fight them off. Damon was never one who liked showcasing weakness but if there was ever a time to be weak it was now.

 _ **How about we slit her throat and watch as life ever so slowly is drained from her?**_

"I'm not asking you to let me go, Elena"

 _ **We can go after her loved ones and force her to watch as we kill them one by one and rather than killing her? We let her live the rest of her life utterly alone until the sadness and loneliness is too much and she kills herself.**_

A single tear rolling down his cheek and onto hers "I'm telling you." Pupils dilating as he draws her into compulsion "you're going to walk out that door and you're not going to bother looking back."

 **End Chapter Two**


End file.
